Sausage and Shrimp Chowder

Sausage and Shrimp Chowder

Some sunny days beg for adventure and the day I found The Smokehouse Meat and Seafood Company, the weather was warm and sun blessed.  Weeks before, someone had mentioned the name “Smokehouse” in passing, but I’d taken my time getting there.  I won’t wait that long again!

The Smokehouse is a very welcoming place that gives off the comforting feeling that small butcher shops are coming back strong.  

You’re greeted as you step through the door and know this won’t be your last trip.  Fresh beef is cut daily, as well as pork, chicken and seafood fill the chilled glass and steel display cases.  Well-trained, knowledgeable butchers help you find exactly what you want. 

But, that sunny day I was looking for house-made smoked sausage, with a flavor and aroma that tells you this is old style sausage, smoked in-house with pecan wood.  I bought a pound’s worth, with one thing in mind:  Sausage and Shrimp Chowder.  The butcher wrapped my purchase in brown butcher paper and I was out the door.

Now it was time to find some shrimp.

Around here, if you’re smart, you buy local shrimp from local vendors. My favorite vendor sells local, wild caught shrimp from the back of a beat up pickup truck, and only Friday to Sunday.  

My advice:  Buy fresh, never frozen shrimp if you can.  Tastes better.  No preservatives, such as that white stuff that leaks out when you cook frozen shrimp.

Shopping for local produce, as well as meats and seafood, is easier and more satisfying than standing in line at a supermarket.  Shopping becomes a deliberate, meaningful and memorable experience.  It takes me back to my younger days, when my grandfather grew all his own vegetables.  Nothing better!

Sausage and Shrimp Chowder

I have to add:  This was so good, we finished off the full pot in two days.

Ingredients:

1 lb Link of smoked sausage, sliced into rounds

1 lb Fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into bite sized pieces  (I used large shrimp, 13-15 to a pound, so I cut them into 2 or three pieces)

1 Large carrot, peeled, thin sliced and chopped

1 Large stalk of celery (with leaves), chopped

1 Red bell pepper, diced

2 Baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 Large sweet onion, diced

4 Cups or more of chicken stock (I also added a cube of chicken stock)

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ Cup whipping cream

Salt and pepper

 A slosh or two of Canola oil (any oil that stands up to heat will do)

Puttin’ It Together: 

Slosh some oil in a big pot and when the oil is heated, add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, and onion.  Cook until the onion is wilted, stirring often.  Don’t be afraid to add a tad more oil if needed.

Add the sausage and cook a while longer.

Shake the flour over the mixture and stir well.  Then add the stock; bring to a simmer and add the potatoes. 

Cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the chowder has thickened.

Take the pot off the heat and stir in the shrimp.  It will cook perfectly in the hot chowder.  When it’s pink, it’s cooked.

Stir in the cream and serve!

I accompanied my chowder with buttered, crusty, homemade sourdough bread and a wonderful French white wine, a Pinot Blanc from Alsace.

I warn you, after your freeloading friends dig in, there won’t be much conversation. Have a stack of napkins close at hand for the unrulies who try to slosh down chowder and crunchy homemade bread at the same time they’re gulping wine. 

I really don’t blame them.  With this chowder, you can’t get it from your bowl to your mouth fast enough.

Note:  So you’re wondering what that milky stuff is that comes out when you cook frozen shrimp?  It’s STTP, sodium tripolyphosphate, also known as pentasodium triphosphate.  The FDA says it ok and it’s not that I don’t trust the FDA, but I just don’t want chemicals in my food, and as far as shrimp goes, it changes the flavor.